We started off by grassing Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ, on December 19th for the December 26th Cheez-It Bowl, in which the TCU Frogs beat the Cal Bears in overtime.

The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl was played on West Coast Turf at the SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm Stadium) on December 31st with the Northwestern Wildcats topping the Utah Utes.

The Redbox Bowl was also played on New Years Eve at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, with the Oregon Ducks defeating the Michigan State Spartans by a single point.

The “Granddaddy of Them All,” the Rose Bowl game, was played in Pasadena on New Years Day on what Rose Bowl groundskeeper, Will Schnell, said was “the best field I have ever had.” Schnell added that the day after the game the field looked as if it hadn’t even been played on.Wow.

But the field absolutely was played on.The Ohio State Buckeyes outperformed the University of Washington Huskies in Urban Meyers’ last appearance as head coach of Ohio State, and his first time at the Rose Bowl. The social media world described the turfgrass at the Rose Bowl as “a green cloud,” “the greatest patch of turf in America, capable of causing grown men weep at its green grass,” “…..there is no greener grass in America than the grass in the Rose Bowl–one of the most beautiful sights in sports,” “the Rose Bowl grass is the definition of perfect.”Shall we go on?

But it doesn’t end there.

West Coast Turf was up to an unusual challenge up at Levi’s Stadium this year.During the New Years Eve Redbox Bowl, West Coast Turf crews were hard at work harvesting a new field at their Livingston, CA, farm to be installed at the stadium for the College Football Playoff National Championship game to be played just a week later on January 7th between the Alabama Crimson Tide, and Clemson Tigers.But first, the Redbox Bowl game needed to be completed, and the field removed.Our turf removal crew was on standby in Santa Clara and began the removal procedure about 5:30 pm, finishing the process at 1 am.Crews worked through the night in shifts installing the new field (22 truckloads worth!) and completing the entire process in 24 hours.

The sod for the National Championship game is a specialty product that was grown on plastic out at the West Coast Turf farm.It is thick-cut, and without time to root, it is heavy enough that the natural turfgrass will remain in place.The Levi’s Stadium staff was very pleased with the process, and amazed it went so quickly and seamlessly!

After the field was installed, the tailgate areas and some of the streets around Levi’s Stadium were sodded for fan enjoyment.